Tuesday, 20 May 2014

I'm not sure this was a good idea from team Mariah. As of today, the entirety of Me. I Am Mariah...The Elusive Chanteuse has been put up on Itunes Radio for streaming. (And as of a millisecond after that moment, I'm sure it was ripped and made available, illegally.) Still, what do I know!
My first impression of the chanteuses new album is that it sounds a lot more cohesive than the singles/teasers implied it was going to be- perhaps the point of the streaming strategy. Killer vocals are of course part and parcel of a Mariah release, but here there is definitely a noticeable push on the vocal front, with the Diva showing off aspects of her voice not previously heard- Heavenly (No Ways Tired / Can't Give Up Now) goes particularly hard with the melisma.

As for my favorites on first listen, I'll have to go with Supernatural (Monroe is too cute, and Mariah genuinely sounds blessed to have her kids) and Meteorite (because I've always wanted Mariah to give us a disco/ house "moment"). This will probably all change as I now go and abuse Apple's bandwidth. I recommend you do the same!

187 comments:

It is indeed since 4 hours ago available as a torrent.I will have a listen for sure but if it has "killer vocals" I will presume that is with a great big "THANK YOU" to modern technology..But here's hoping the songs are good. Least I already like Beautiful and You Don't Know What To Do.

Wouldn't worry about her not "lowering some of it live", seeing as that would be a nicely euphemistic description of what she has been doing the past decade. ;-)

I think you missed the sarcasm there though. I have no doubt it has "killer vocals" (presuming one subscribes to a certain kind of vocals as being the "killer vocals". I personally have a different idea than most Mariah fans on that).I just highly doubt they are anything but electronically engineered and won't be delivered live . And by live I mean that she is actually fully singing the vocals while we are seeing her sing them.

oh, I'm not sure if it's her or not. I kind of think that she and Celine do multiple takes and then keep those not chosen for CD or remixes for "live" performances. I think she probably waits until she can at least come close to the note. It'd sound strange if she didn't at least hit it closely.

How much of it can she do live? ...not even gonna comment, maybe something will change.

I just knew the jawdropping vocals when she first appeared on the scene. Stopped following her after hearing her second album. Awesome as she was vocally, I was not into her material (I can't get into a song just for a specific note being hit, I don't see the appeal).

When I discovered this blog , which reviews her a lot, I started watching those videos. I find her eternally disappointing, much of it is lipped or "backtracked" and the vocals that are actually fully live have not been anywhere near "killer". Much of it would go unnoticed and uncared for if they would be attached to another, unknown name.I am sure if a Mariah hadn't been and a new singer appeared on the scene who sounded (and used the same amount of trickery) live exactly as Mariah these days actually sounds, none of her present fans would describe those vocals as "killer".In fact, I'd wager the guess, she'd be heavily critiqued on this blog. IF she'd be reviewed or in anyway paid attention to at all.

I am not even talking "consistency" here. She IS consistent....in not delivering any truly "Great" performances live that come anywhere near to living up to her reputation or her actually Great performances now many years ago. "Elusive chanteuse" indeed ;-)

All of which is not to say there is nothing to enjoy here. Her tone is gorgeous and she is truly a diva and if you are in the mood for seeing a singer being a diva on stage...Mariah is your girl and sure delivering that experience.But "killer vocals"? Nope, those have not been delivered for many years. And I just don't feel studio enhanced "killer vocals" deserve the adjective or praise for the singer. Praise for that should go to the engineer/producer IF one already believes praise should be heaped on anybody for what is essentially cheating.But of course, that is just how I honestly feel. Means nothing more than that this is my personal opinion. :-)

Celine does also lip but unlike Mariah , she intersperse it with still, at times, really live and truly great vocals of the level most singers in the bizz cannot ever deliver. I find that a most significant difference between the two. Unlike Mariah, Celine does not consistently fail to impress.

Anyway, Celine was not the subject. I am not comparing Mariah to other singers and criticizing based on other singers but on her own performances in the first couple of years of her career. The performances we all based that adjective "one of the greatest" on.:-)

Just to be clear..for my money Mariah in her prime definitely was one of the greatest. And I truly wished she still was. That is why I kept checking out her performances being reviewed here, Hoping for the best. It's just that unlike hard core fans, I can't escape the realisation any longer that said hope is in vain.Because for me reality tells me, if I singer has not been able to deliver those kind of vocals live for this many years, it is unlikely she will ever again in her advancing age. Especially one who seems unwilling to take the basic and simple steps to even give herself a chance on delivering those.

No shade experienced. You just said it how you see it and I responded with how I do.And yes, I am hoping that is what this album will be able to do for me. Bring some good music and I am not going to expect much more than that. Like I said, I already like some of the songs. I am still bummed Beautiful didn't do better. I feel that should have been THE summer hit of last year. :-)

I kinda expected a lot more. Art of Letting Go and #Beautiful still remains the crowning jewel, and I'm disappointed the album didn't go more that direction. I honestly still adore Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel and I wish she expanded on that sound and kept the sounds cohesive and flowing and the lyrics REAL. Maybe with more listens it'll grow on me, maybe I had different expectations, but this album didn't live up to as supreme a title as it got.

I agree with you. And not just because I am a fan. I can easily point out all of her flaws... Consistency is her biggest issue and I blame it on poor prep. Electronic assistance can only take you so far. It can't make as dramatic of a change as one could assume photoshop can on an image. It can only make something sound like a slightly better version of itself-not a hoarse laryngitis filled woman into a vocal goddess. :)

Some aspects of this album sound like they were supposed to go in a different direction than the whole thing went in- but from a first listen I would definitely compare it to her older records. It reminds me quite a bit of Butterfly as its quite experimental. Something I do notice though is that she sounds quite hoarse in it. But it's not exactly distracting on the Christina level. I really love this album. Its not what I expected but thats not a bad thing.

I feel like this album just feels unfocused and a bit over the place. And I know she's scrapped it a few times and chose to go in different directions so it's somewhat understandable. I definitely don't think it's THAT high up there, but you know, different strokes for different blokes i guess.

Her voice wasn't the best in Memoirs but I really loved it sonically and lyrically. I liked that she stuck with R&B, but gave it an ever-so-slight electronic influence, and the instrumental didn't clutter over her voice either. There were things that could've been tweaked but overall it felt like an ALBUM.

Her voice is not in good shape...Any live performances is an indicator of that, plus in all the studio recordings you can hear a rasp and hoarseness overtaking the upper belting region, and some middle voice notes as well.

Her voice isn't in a critical state, but her instrument is clearly damaged.

For all that rasp and hoarseness though, I felt that Mariah was more daring with her voice in this album. She didn't shy away from tackling difficult, climatic bridges like she has in recent years. And 'Heavenly' has some major singing at the end.

I laid back and fell asleep listening to it, which for me is a good indication :PHer middle voice is not healthy and some of the songs are so soBut the production is quite nice, and the walls of vocals really disguised her current weaknesses For the most part.

I like the album, but honestly I can't wait for the deluxe version with those two remixes from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.

On another matter, this album was definitely more daring vocally for her (perhaps she realised that her voice is deteriorating steadily and she's trying to put it all in one last album, lol) Jokes aside, Meteorite was definitely different than the songs in her entire catalog. My favorite still remains "You Don't Know What To Do". I don't love the album direction a lot, but I love the album. :)

While I did not hate the production for the album, I wish she'd stop including Jermaine Dupri in everything though. It's so obvious that she's still dying for a comeback, but maybe not to the level previously achieved with Emancipation of Mimi.

Wait, is the album version of Art of Letting Go even out? Because that song is on the deluxe edition of the album, and iTunes Radio usually only streams standard editions, and I didn't hear it when I streamed the album. Or maybe I seriously spaced.

From what I'm hearing, she's pulling all stops on this album.For fuck's sake, she belted an A5 in 'Heavenly' (if you have it downloaded, around the 3:20 mark is where I'd start playback), and pulls whistle notes nearly every song.However, her deterioration is...considerable. There's a rasp all through the middle voice that streams up to the belted range. She may be doing a lot in the studio, but that doesn't mean the best of things for her live performances (forecast: lip-syncing, with a chance of key changes), because if her middle sounds rough in the STUDIO, I don't know how it'll be when she sings this shit live.As an album, I'm really liking how she's experimenting. In my mind, it sits somewhere between TEOM and Charmbracelet - some songs were clearly meant to go for the radio, and others make for a great, cohesive album. However, unlike 'Memoirs', they don't blend into one another. Each song is very distinct from the last. I'd give this a full B/B+ if it were graded. Yeah, there's some superfluous stuff thrown in there, but it works very nicely, and more importantly, feels complete in itself.

There's an A5 in 'Heavenly' that's belted. But her voice is not in good shape. That rasp has been growing and growing like crazy, and there's more pull on the voice than there should be. And whereas in the past, she could pull notes in head voice with no problem, that seems to be severely lacking here, as she only uses falsetto notes, and doesn't connect her whistles to her head voice like she used to. That's a voice that's been heading down for a good LONG time.

On an unrelated note, continuing our discussion from the album yesterday, maybe Mariah is refraining from streaming Money because she wants to release it as the next single after generating some attention from Thirsty and You Don't Know What To Do. Does that make sense? LOL

I wasn't questioning whether or not she is able to sing second-octaves notes because she clearly possesses the ability to do but to say that she's vocalized within the 'E2 - G2' region [of which are 'trophy' notes for most Bass-Baritones & Baritones] is rather absurd and even if she has, were they ample in resonance and solid with vibrato? Of course not. In actuality, I would say that Mariah's last 'capable' low note is a B2 and without a microphone - nothing below E3.

That 'E2' note is rather false yet, somewhat, debatable. It wasn't a singular note performed. Apparently, it was vocalized via. octave unison on her song 'Bliss' which, in my opinion, is incorrect. One's vocal range is comprised of the 'audible' notes they can sing at both ends of their voices; I can breathe down to a C2 and gargle an A1 but what use are they if I cannot sing those notes upon an actual vocal line with fixed amplification? The lowest note I can project an E2.

Nonetheless, Mariah has one the greatest- lower registers for any Soprano in Popular music, especially in the third octave, but her second-octave notes are questionable.

It was an A2 to my ears..surrounded by a butload of F4s, A3s, F3s and D3s. I've been working on my pitch by ear so I may be wrong but defo no no damn F2. The wavelengths sounded akin to the upper second octave not the middle, plus it was layered with some type of little echo and was breathy...

I don't care much for her whistle register...or whistle register period...so that's a part of her range I don't care for. Someone said she belted an A5 somewhere?

Thank you. 'F2' is a VERY low note (for some Male singers alike - even I, as a Dramatic Baritone, start to lose a certain ease in that area) so there is, absolutely, no way the average "Female" with a high/light- Soprano voice of her caliber is vocalizing a solid & resonant F2. I refuse to believe it as it's, virtually, impossible.

You just made me realize just how "high pitched" a voice I got in relation to other male voices. My voice literally stops at F2...I can go down quite a bit lower but it's all modal fry mix and I have so-so ease down there. I can commonly go down to a C2 in a fry mix and my color down there is getting darker but... It ain't no baritonal quality... I so envy baritones and there lows.... Also and the fact that my Idol Jazmine sullivan uses a lot of forward placed nasality in her lows to aim for agility doesn't serve me well. LOL, it truly makes me sound hallow. But hey, I'll happily sacrifice some a thick masculine timbre for the crazy ass agility of my lower register.

Clip one... Don't judge me -_-... This is poor posture and no diaphragmatic support all....

https://soundcloud.com/black-robin/lows

This was me playing around over my grandma's house... A lot of uneven vocal pressure but, I can't do any runs without excess vocal pressure or they'll end up sloppy....

https://soundcloud.com/black-robin/nasal-ass-lows

Ignore my mom... She and I don't get along too well LOL.

https://soundcloud.com/black-robin/tough-ass-song

I only recently started caring about my lows like...legit just wanna be a baritone so I'll fake it type caring, so bare with me LOL.

I was only able to listen to the album on a torrent since Im very anti apple. If it wasn't on the stream then someone just spliced it in to this file. Either way this version sounds way crisper and less processed lol.

I love the agility you have in your lower register and the fluidity your voice carries overall. My modal (chest) voice withholds, virtually, no agility at all; it's just rich, dark & heavy with power upon power upon power - that's why my specialty lies within belting [which I love] as do most Dramatic voices nonetheless and, especially, male- Dramatic voices. I can sing moderate amounts of melisma in falsetto and, at times, head voice but that's it. Also, in my opinion, Jazmine Sullivan has the fullest/boldest- lower register for any Female Pop singer I know along with Anastasia Prikhodko. What's your full range?

But yes, the D2 - F2 region "typically" belongs to Bass- Baritones, they have the most color in that area [although it can vary] whereas the F2 - A2 region, generally, belongs to a Standard- Baritone.

Ok, I misheard what I was listening to. It was super late when I was doing all of this lol

I confused the lowest notes with harmony (hence why I couldn't tell if it was E2 or F2). Someone reported a G#2 on the album, which isn't unheaed of - recorded it before. Silly mistake on by behalf. While the note in the song's not that low, it's pretty close to what I thought it was. As for the Eb7 - that was probably a little hype on my part. The highest note on the album may belong to beautiful's C#7.

The A5 belt, I'm not getting into. I didn't listen to belts carefully enough to even get into that. There are more than enough G5s to compensate though, so there's that.

I don't quite know what you mean by full range so I'll just explain everything. Right now it's A1-G#5, but if I warm up it'll be C2-D6. I also have been having quite a bit of access to my WR but it comes and goes. I can generally hit effortless but disconnected whistles up G6 and some melismas up there but, again vocal pressure is my hugest issue. The highest I've ever whistled was a E7 and that was actually on google hangout, laughing with some friends and I just sqauked up there. But since I never song that high, I won't include it. So on a very, very good day my range is C2-G6. LOL.

Now back to Jazmine, the things this woman can do. Like do a vocal run that covers 2 octaves, scat, sing melismas to the second octave without losing tonality, and carry third octave resonance of a tenor is just amazing. I wonder what this new album of hers has in store. You know this crazy girl has been holding out on us with her head voice right? She's very capable.

She hit a G5 in headvoice here around 1:37. And she also did some really fast down scales to G3 from like E4 (pitching by ear...trying something new) And I think her highest belt here was F5. She also hits another G5 at the end. I had no idea it was that cavernous and dark...it's gloomy in color....like really gloomy... And the Eb3s at the end and on down to the C#3....yassss.... If I recall, she covered A2(Bb2)-G5 in this entire show.

But back to her lows, they've gotten hella darker than last time I recalled and from the snippets I've been listening to from her album, she's really getting comfortable in the upper parts of her lower middle. Her lows always seemed nasal (not in a bad way, not at all. I mean in comparison, I make my lows nasal because I love agility and I would think a heavy voice like her does the same. Now the B2s in get lucky were not nasal but generally her rapid downscale flourishes tend to be nasal Can something be full and nasal at the same time LOLOL???) as with generally the rest of her voice.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdAuBR5VObE

I feel like there's something off with the name of the album. I mean, if it's supposed to be an album where she shows her true self and she even calls it "Me, I am Mariah", why then, include a nickname? I mean, you're trying to be who you really are, not who people say you are. I don't know, I think that using a nickname, specially one that people have just started to call you by, is not really showing who you are (not to talk that I've never heard anyone call Mariah "the elusive chanteuse" before, but well...). I don't know, just my opinion.

About the album... haven't heard all of it yet, but I liked Beautiful and Heavenly (I lost my shit at the end) but I guess it's just gonna be like the rest of Mariah's material I've heard so far: I like her voice, but there's always that doesn't get to convince me.

Yeah, I guess one of Mariah's double edged traits is how easily identifiable her music is--not just her voice, but her persona literally seeps into her albums/songs. For someone who has synaesthesia, it's not only her voice that emits the same identifiable colour, but also her instrumentation. It's actually crazy how much of a princessa mariposa she can get.

And really while the tone of her current music is personal taste... I really think that there is a certain 'tackiness' pervading throughout. I don't know. Maybe it's her overuse of metallic percussions.

And totally about the semi-biographical albums being so heavy in vogue these days. And it even extends in indie music.

It's actually interesting. I think there's some sort of counter-culture happening right now, as people are getting 'tired' of hearing impersonal-seeming songs--not that the artists are able to hold their end of the bargain (e.g Britney), but just self-titling their albums just reflects the emphasis for 'authenticity'.

That said, the production here is marvellous, but her raspiness quite scary. She's actually a really, great producer. I've always hoped that one day she would wake up like a Disney princess that she is and have her voice 'restored'.

It is a disconnected register more or less. There's no getting around it. However, apparently one is able to "mix" the whistle with head voice (news to me) hence the term Super Head Voice I believe. But the whistle register is disconnected register, much like Falsetto.

Well you aren't huffing into a mic, are you? If you're a dramatic baritone, I'm pretty sure if I give you a tripply amped mic and a nice cushioned microphone to drown out some of the air, you could get down to the lower second octave at least, especially if you had the chance to record it when your voice was the heaviest.

It's solid and resonant likely because of resonant frequencies that were added. It's easy to do that in software today.

She has used head voice in the past (mostly in the 90s, to be fair), but the difference between the two registers is widening, not receding. That's the idea.

And it is possible to mix the two registers - any operatic soprano with notes above G6 is mixing head voice and whistle registers, and lower and lower mixes are employed for different voice types. I've also experimented heavily in that region of my voice, and I've found that it's possible. However, there is a significant difference in tone and placement. Some singers, to my experience, will find that mix by doing vocal slides either up or down the scale, going from, say, C7 to C4 with no breaks.

The album is very distinct from the previous releases this year with Mariah tackling different musical genres and of course, her traditional, go-all-out ballad(s). All in all, this is a solid album with minor errors hear and there with the songs and I would have to give it either a B+ or an A-.

PS: Heavenly and You're Mine would have been a HUGE hit if they were released as singles during the few months when 80's / 90's inspired music sky-rocketed to the top of the charts.

Well, LOL, that would be in the morning; I can easily vocalize a strong C2 but once my voice is warmed up, I lose ease on any note below F2. The truth is I can sing down to an D2 regardless but, because technique is very important to me, if the note isn't resonant, doesn't withhold vibrato and I can't sing it upon a standard vocal line with amplification & lowering my larynx, I refuse to include it as part of my "sung" range. I see your point though.

That is quite an impressive range altogether but what area of your range do you feel the most comfortable singing in? I doubt you go as low to C2 and as high as G6 in every song. As for Jazmine Sullivan, I cannot wait until she matures into a 'Full- Lyric Contralto'; I want to bare witness to that change. LOL. I know you can't too... : - D

We got an assignment from our music teacher to sing a song in two weeks. He made a list of all the songs we could choose and I chose 'On My Own' from Les Miz, because a) I freaking love that song and b) I really wanna wow my teacher. I'm planning on singing that song in C major (which is still pretty darn high considering I'm a dude) and I guess it sounds okay. It's not bad, but neither brilliant. That's where you come into play!

I wondered if you could give me any advice on technique and all that jazz. Like I, for example, have noticed that I sound too dark overall, and I am totally aware that I would need a heady mix for that but I still couldn't figure out how that works... Maybe you could also give me advice on the big belts and how to keep the tone when I'm up there. Yeah things like these, I guess...

I know it doesn't have to do much with Mariah, but I still hope to get an answer on this

You're simply providing excuses as to why she sings the way she does - sub-standardly. And she doesn't go flat every once in a while, she's far more acquainted with pitchiness than "once in a while".

"below E4 (where, as a light-lyric, she loses confidence, and therefore, support, weakening the sound severely)" has as much logic as Ariana's voice has resonance. Being a Light-lyric doesn't justify that, at all.

Does "and 'excellent' rhythm, as well as musicality" not go in conjunction with the compliment? Because "at the core of the voice is a brilliant sense of pitch....as well as musicality" doesn't work if it isn't "excellent". So "as well as musicality" meaning? What was the purpose of "as well as" if not in conjunction to the preceding compliment? The Core of her voice has musicality? In terms of what? How so? Being a person of decent musicality, I wouldn't necessarily agree with that, not one bit.

The clause was "as well as musicality that sometimes veers a little", MEANING that while she may not always make the most tasteful decisions when concerning a song, she will usually stick to what is melodically appropriate. The only times when I'd say her musicality is lacking is when she goes for a melisma that's simply there to show off.

And yes, being a light-lyric soprano DOES justify some discomfort below E4, as most light-lyrics have probably spent their entire lives singing at or far above that note. Her vocal cords are short and thin (probably some of the smallest vocal cords in the music industry), therefore, she needs to focus as she goes down the scale. However, not having sung below middle C for any amount of time (likely ever), the notes sound foggy and weak. She never trained that range, and no doubt feels uncomfortable singing in it. It's like asking a tenor to produce solid, clear G2s. Most of them could probably do it (not loudly, but with some presence), but it's not a common range, and therefore is rarely trained to a presentable level.

The idea of a mixed belt is to bring the voice up and into the mask, and eventually, the head. It feels different, and it's not nearly as difficult as it seems. The way I get a mix to work is to feel as if I'm belting into my nose the higher up I go. Then, I learned how to expand the sound so the resonance covered my entire face. Big tip - don't force it. Don't even think that it needs to be loud. Just experiment with your voice until you figure out how to get your chest voice to slide up. Believe you me, when a note is in a chesty mix (which seems appropriate for a G4, which is the top note for you, I believe), it'll ring like the bells of Notre Dame.

From Yahoo Music! "Me. I Am Mariah (the deluxe edition of which includes songs with Mary J. Blige and R. Kelly) could spark a buzz as big as her 2005 smash, The Emancipation of Mimi, which spawned the classic "We Belong Together." Regardless, it will absolutely shut down the comparisons to new kid on the block Ariana Grande." That deadly shade at the end... :O

Aww I remember AP World. I was bad in that class too. really should've paid attention in that class more instead of listening to new music tbh. That was my go to class for new songs, I remember hearing Miley premiere We Can't Stop in that class.

Oh well they probably just tacked on Art of Letting Go at the end because it was already released. But maybe it was the two different versions of Letting Go, remember when an intern accidentally released the wrong version on Facebook or something?

Oh hey thanks a lot! I normally belt with a lot of pharyngeal placement (late Jennifer Hudson-style) which takes away a lot of tone. So I've been trying to get rid of that and I tried it out just now, thanks a lot ! (my top note is a B4 btw)

Oh...a heady mix...those can be difficult. Especially because of how hard it is to get it to sound like it's still belting. Honestly, a heady mix, though useful, as it's much less difficult to phrase in than chest-mix, is less powerful in the 4th octave than it would be in the fifth, whereas a chesty mix gives you more options for volume in the 4th. If I were you, I'd trying getting that chesty mix as light as you can. Narrow the amount of air that you're allowing to pass through, but keep the placement up, if that makes any sense. In the end, what you get is something that's halfway between chest and head mix, and it works wonders when you need it to.You can also just meander into pure head voice during that first verse as you see fit, particularly on 'ee' and 'oo' vowels.And there's nothing wrong with the Jennifer Hudson approach. If she kept her vowels a bit taller, those A5s of hers could be somewhat pretty. And if you REALLY want to do a heady mix (or, as I call it, a 'soft belt'), then as you ascend, when you hit your passagio points, place your voice in the upper mask, and in the head. You want to just keep the barest traces of chest voice as you go up. The feel of a heady mix is something like a good, strong head note, only muffled. To be honest, the first time I did a head mix, I thought I had gone to head voice, until I realized that I didn't need to think about the lower bridge when I was coming down. It's a very hard voice to describe how to achieve, but interesting once you have it.

Hmm, I don't think she's using processing after a few listens. It sounds like her. The rasp is there and everything. I think she waits for when her voice can give her the note. She's talked about sometimes not having access to her lower or upper, depending on mood, sleep, etc.

Although she did get over shadowed a bit by Jena on that C#5. In her defense, Jena is a big voiced Full Lyric with Dramatic-like qualities to her voice. A Lyric-Spinto most likely is what Jena is. Still, drowned out by Jena or not, Demi did very well here. Finally she didn't sound like she was being strangled lol

You started off on G#3, your tessitura isn't that low, at all. You don't have a dark voice, it isn't bright either. Your timbre is warm and very rich. There doesn't exist massive weight. In fact, it's quite light. I'd say Lyric Tenor from that. But I'd like to hear more so I can say for certain that you're a Lyric Tenor.

Baritones generally have timbres akin to yours so I can see the confusion there I suppose. But keep in mind your voice doesn't necessarily sit low. Or at least I don't think so. Was that the original key of the song or was that just sung spontaneously from a random key? If it's the latter, then you have quite a mid to high tessitura as opposed to middle to low.

Do you know the lowest note you can hit? Also, do you think you could tell me the highest you can hit as well?

Spontaneously random. My voice is odd. When I have allergies or astmah, I can't really sing that low. I'd not say my voice sits too low, either way. My lowest usable notes are probably F2/G2, but I'd need a mic.

My highest note is about a D#5 (mixing); after getting my astmah into control. The upper range is MUCH louder, but I can get some "Lana Del Rey"-esque low notes. But the sound there is much like talking--there's no real substance to them.

Belting, my voice can sometimes get very big, but I can't really maintain "BIG" lines for too long.

At about F4, I feel a bit of unsteadiness, especially as I approach F#4. I sometimes will even raise the key to avoid F#/G. It's a strange occurence really. Somehow A/B/C are easier for me than F#s.

LOL, I know the struggle with allergies. When I have allergies my lower register is none existent but my upper chest and falsetto seem to be endless LOL. Singing below A2 with allegies is a chore for me.

I don't know if it's all allergies. I stopped smoking a while ago, and after about a year off, my voice got lighter, even my speaking voice which used to be called "deep". I'm not sure if I like it. I kind of enjoyed being able to have a husky lower. But I couldn't get past F at all without falsetto then.

An Octave jump, impressive. Well, it was a very smooth and quick Glissando. You're DEFINITELY a Tenor haha. You lost resonance down in the 3rd octave and cracked on C#3. You are unmistakably a Lyric Tenor! I'm not going to judge you on technique as that isn't what you asked me for, and I think you know what you need to work on pretty much. I will say you have a very good 5th Octave Mix. It wasn't heady, wasn't too chesty. It was the right blend, especially for a guy.

Well, having listened to the album, I'd say it is nice background music for certain moods/moments.But it's not something which can keep my attention to just sit and really listen.Seeing as I am into songs and emotion rather than searching for highest and lowest notes reached. I hear no songs here which are particularly interesting in and by themselves to me. Where I would enjoy them no matter who sings them.I guess that explains why the conversation here, when it is about the album, is all about individual notes.;-)All in all I would give this a B.

As far as I'm aware, super head voice is singing in the "whistle register range" using the head voice technique so it sounds a lot fuller and rounded. So head voice in the upper 6th octave and above… From what my friend who rarely uses whistle register in that part of her range and prefers using head voice tells me. Though I could be wrong?

There's definetly less tension in those C#5 than before, but they're still not as good as her previous ones IMO I don't know, I feel like they still lack that something. Resonance? Squillo? I don't know, but they don't sound as good as her belts in here, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y7ARlV5EkM (Ignore anything sung after the second chorus lol)

I think I know what you mean. I tried it and it felt good and sounded pretty, isn't that all that matters? LOL so thank you :)Ugh pure HV and falsetto are too risky, so better not haha. About the Jennifer Hudson approach, not quite sure what you mean by tall vowels... but I know that there practically is no tone and I need tone god damnit ! Well now that you taught me this light chest mix method, the head mix isn't really that urgent anymore haha !

Do you have anymore tips, you vocal guru LOL they're really helpful. I'll let you know how it turned out (even if you don't want to know!)

Her previous C#5s in general or her C#5s in that specific song? 'cause that performance there was her best to date, of that song anyway. Demi sounded like a chipmunk during that era, I couldn't stand listening to her. Vocally her best but the sound overall was quite tight and premature sounding. Couldn't stand it.

Not really. I'm not very good at explaining how to do things with the voice, only how they feel to me, and where I try to place the voice to achieve a certain kind of sound. So, please tell me how it all turns out, and if my silly little tips helped any.

I'm not a big Ariana fan, there's something about her that I don't like.Anyways, I think people are being way too harsh on her. She has a great voice and range for her age and good for her on getting some recognition. She's 20. She cando whatever she wants.

Hey guys i haven't listened to the album yet because i wanna save it to the day i buy the actual album. On unrelated note, I kinda miss Mariah doing a bridge. I know that her style is 2nd chorus then Hurricane Katrina/Haiyan mode (WBT/ISIL) and i think that vocal styling is something she did originally or popularized(correct me if im wrong). Also i think she really pushed the boundaries during chorus wherein she harmonizes(heartbreaker/fantasy). She's the only artist i hear who does these things consistently, and i think that is refreshing and original of her. But I wanna listen to her with basic musical arrangement in her future work and frankly that i think was missing with #beautiful.

Should have added, in this case, I don't think you'd be throwing your money away. Generally unimpressed as I personally am, on a whole it is a good background soundtrack to a certain kind of evening I'd say. Worth your bucks.

@Sasuke Uchiha @Black Robin I know this must be really getting old with you guys being asked all the time for your opinion, but i would love to hear any thoughts of yours on my voice. my range spans from an F2 to C#6 but being really comfortable in area between A2 to A5. i can access my falsetto, but the thing that bothers is that it's so unstable and tends to break, and the odd thing is that the higher i go, the easier it gets, but the notes above A5 are not always there. and when my voice is stretched out i can go up to A6, this is a recording of my voice. and if you want to, i can record myself singing in falsetto, so u can hear what happens, it's quite ridiculous. and i wouldn't say that it's out my range, cause the notes are there, i can produce them, just not fluidly and with stability.

Very late, and I see that no one's commented on this post for a few days, but for the warying traveler, here's my review on the album. Expect me to casually mention this again on FFAF. (: http://mikey-pop.tumblr.com/post/87175398893/this-is-mariah-the-elusive-chanteuse

Read it but am clueless as how to respond on your blog itself.Can't say I would give this album the status you are giving it. Nor the vocals really. But I do agree it is an "album" rather than a collection of singles.And though imo nothing earth shattering, it's one I won't be deleting after one listen like I do so many other pop albums reviewed on this blog.Because it is a really nice soundtrack to some evenings. :-)

It's kinda tricky to comment on a Tumblr blog if you don't have an account. But I do see a Disqus "loading" circle below, but it never finishes loading so I'm not really sure how to go about this.

I didn't try to give it any high status, haha, but I genuinely do think it is one of her best since Daydream. It's definitely not earth-shattering, but it's nice after a few of attempts to sound more mainstream.And I agree, this album was MADE for those summer nights.

I bought the album this week at Target for the extra tracks and I love it, her best work in 10 years :) I'm not bothered by the rasp in her voice, doesn't really strike me as strain as much as "dryness", like a tired voice, though the top notes are remarkably well preserved, which I wouldn't expect less of a soprano.

There were too many of them. And it's obvious that they're not intentionally done as Demi's or Mariah's (well, old Demi and old Mariah lol). They somewhat fit the song, but if she keeps this way, she's gonna hurt her voice badly...

True, but all of THOSE sopranos know how to place their voice (and Leona's a touch closer to a full lyric) so their voices actually resonate. Ariana, though she obviously knows how to sing without wrecking her voice, cannot place her voice to resonate for the life of her.

I wasn't feeling Camouflage at first, because of all the layering. But one I listened to it a couple of times I have fallen in love, and is my favourite song from the album so far. Definitely gives me 'Petals' tease.

Opie, the chest runs are definitely electronically assisted, but I honestly feel that Mariah can deliver these vocals on a good day. The vocals are decent, maybe better than her previous albums, but are by no means so good as to be impossible for her.

I understand that you feel that her lack of live consistency indicates she needs editing to sing... But all a lack of live consistency indicates is a lack of consistency. She has had some good performances. These songs are mostly, aurally similar to her Australian concert ;) though perhaps a tad cleaner.